Beyonce By Jim Harrington In 1948, Muddy Waters kick-started his career by recording one of his best-known songs, â€œI Canâ€™t Be Satisfied.â€ Donâ€™t surprised if real blues fans and scholars of early rock â€˜nâ€™ roll are singing a similar tune,… Continue Reading →

In 1948, Muddy Waters kick-started his career by recording one of his best-known songs, â€œI Canâ€™t Be Satisfied.â€

Donâ€™t surprised if real blues fans and scholars of early rock â€˜nâ€™ roll are singing a similar tune, with conviction, after seeing the new biopic on the influential Chess label, â€œCadillac Records,â€ which hits theaters today. There are simply too many holes in the storyline, too many liberties taken in regard to historical record, for big music buffs to be satisfied with this Darnell Martin-directed film.

The most troubling decision was to remove label co-founder Phil Chess from the story â€“ like he never even existed. Other problematic areas include how the label got its start (the film never addresses its transition from Aristocrat Records), the absence of other significant Chess artists (notably Bo Diddley) and its overly dramatic conclusion (especially in regard to co-founder Leonard Chess).

Fortunately for Martin, the people who can point out the historical gaps in the plot constitute a very small percentage of the movie-going public. Others might enjoy the film, which features fine performances by Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as blues songwriter/bassist Willie Dixon and Mos Def as rock icon Chuck Berry.

To be clear, the Chess Records story is worthy of being told â€“ which is why itâ€™s the subject of two new biopics, this one and the forthcoming â€œWho Do You Love,â€ which received some positive reviews at the most recent Toronto International Film Festival. The label was a pivotal force in introducing electric Chicago-style blues to a much broader audience and in helping turn early rock â€˜nâ€™ roll into a national sensation.

â€œCadillac Recordsâ€ opens in 1941 and immediately introduces the two central characters, Chess and Waters. At the time, Chess is running a junkyard in Chicago and Waters (Jeffrey Wright) is working on a plantation in Mississippi. Both men dream of bigger things, which would quickly start to materialize after Waters picked up his guitar and moved north to the Windy City.

The two meet, began cutting tunes in the late â€˜40s and proceeded to set the charts on fire. That was the start of a winning streak for the label, as Chess went on to experience notable success by recording such artists as Little Walter and Howlinâ€™ Wolf, two legends portrayed quite convincingly by Columbus Short and Eamonn Walker, respectively.

The Chess era hit its commercial peak in the â€˜50s with Chuck Berry, who would deliver several chart-topping early rock standards while signed to the label. Chess Records was reportedly so prosperous for a time that all of its artists drove Cadillacs, a point that is driven home countless times by the director, as if trying to justify the filmâ€™s title.

The acting is mostly topnotch. Brody comes across as a convincingly driven Chess, a man consumed by his musical mission, while Shortâ€™s Walter is appropriately edgy and unstable and Mos Def plays Berryâ€™s stage shtick to perfection (even though his singing sounds nothing like that of the elder rocker). The weakest link, regrettably, is Wright, who fails to command the screen in the fashion needed to sell Watersâ€™ mystique.

The best vocal work comes from Beyonce Knowles in the role of Etta James. Her versions of â€œAt Lastâ€ and, especially, â€œIâ€™d Rather Go Blindâ€ are so much better than anything youâ€™ll hear on her newly released solo CD.

In the end, however, Beyonceâ€™s captivating voice and the filmâ€™s other pluses simply couldnâ€™t outweigh the glaring omissions from the storyline for this critic. Chess Records deserves, and will hopefully someday get, a better spin than the one delivered by â€œCadillac Records.â€

In the beginning, there was the convertible. And the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. And it was good _ very good. But something was missing. We needed something to accompany us our trips with friends… Continue Reading →

In the beginning, there was the convertible. And the wind in your hair and the sun on your face.

And it was good _ very good. But something was missing. We needed something to accompany us our trips with friends to the beach or the lake. We desired a soundtrack that would make those backyard barbecues and picnics at the lake even more special.

Thus, the creators _ and, of course, we mean folks like Chuck Berry, Martha Reeves and Brian Wilson _ gave us the â€œsummer song.â€ And things became even better.
Weâ€™re all familiar with the concept of the summer song. Itâ€™s the jam that is played ad infinitum, on radio, video music programs and (especially) car stereo systems, during a particular summer season. By the time fall hits, everyone might be tired of the song _ but, during the warm weather months, we just canâ€™t seem to get enough of the track.

Years later, weâ€™ll hear that song and our minds will immediately click, â€œOh, yeah, the summer of (insert year here).â€ In that sense, the song serves a poignant and lasting document of a season, a musical equivalent, if you will, to photographs from a familyâ€™s summer vacation.

If you look back at recent summer songs _ such as Gwen Stefaniâ€™s â€œHollaback Girlâ€ (2005), Gnarls Barkleyâ€™s â€œCrazyâ€ (2006) and Rihannaâ€™s â€œUmbrellaâ€ (2007) _ one similarity stands outs beyond all others: Each of the tunes have a hook big enough to land Moby Dick. Weâ€™re talking about music that burrows into your head like some space parasite from â€œStar Trek,â€ taking over your brain with one repeated command: â€œTurn the darn song up!â€

A proper summer song has a beat that you canâ€™t deny and a groove that makes you want to dance. Not coincidentally, most summer songs of recent years have hailed from the R&B/hip-hop/pop realm, as opposed to the rock world. (Although, to be fair, country music always seems to produce its own summer song, which crosses over to the general public to some degree.)

We looked at all those factors in trying to come up with potential candidates for Summer Song â€™08. Any of these radio-friendly tunes might turn out to be the one that best defines the season. These are our picks, but weâ€™d love to hear your thoughts as well. Post your pick for Summer Song â€™08 on this blog:

â€œI Kissed a Girl,â€ Katy Perry
Whoâ€™s better qualified to score a summer single than a gal from Santa Barbara? Perryâ€™s spunky single, having already topped iTunesâ€™ download chart and broken into Billboardâ€™s Top 10, has that elusive â€œhip-right-nowâ€ quality. Itâ€™s breezy, energetic and fresh, boasting a distinct novelty element, and it should appeal to all ages.

“All Summer Long,â€ Kid Rock
As you know, his name is â€œKiiiiiiid!â€ And his specialty is serving up cool songs that are fun to bump at top volume in your ride. Rock has been on a tear in recent months, having appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone and scored his first-ever No. 1 album (last yearâ€™s “Rock N Roll Jesus”), and a big summer smash would solidify his already impressive comeback. His fan base is immense, including country listeners and â€œold-schoolâ€ hip-hop heads who can remember all the way back to 1997, and this catchy song should appeal to the whole lot.

â€œWhatchagondo,â€ Kasper From the K
You might not have heard of this Kentucky rapper _ yet. Chances are, however, his â€œWhatchagondoâ€ will be blasting out of cars driving down your block all summer long. This beat-crazy track, with one of those undeniably sharp hooks, seems tailor-made for the type of bikini dance parties that you see in rap videos. Heâ€™s already a star with the online community, which hits him up on MySpace and plays his videos on YouTube, and he seems poised for mainstream success.

“If I Never See Your Face Again,” Maroon 5 and Rihanna
This song has vast cross-over potential. If it connects with both KFOG/Alice listeners, who dig Maroon 5, and the Wild 94.9 crew, which loves Rihanna, then it could be an unbeatable track this summer. Both acts already know a thing or two about creating irresistible pop songs (see Rihannaâ€™s â€œUmbrellaâ€ and Maroonâ€™s â€œThis Loveâ€). The biggest thing this track has going for it, however, is just how hot Rihanna is in 2008.

â€œSummertime,â€ New Kids on the Block
Is it 1988 or 2008? Itâ€™s really hard to tell with all the fuss being made about the New Kids on the Block tour, which touches down at HP Pavilion in San Jose on Oct. 10. The multi-platinum boy band _ consisting of men now in their late 30s _ is definitely back and a big summer song could cement their comeback as 2008â€™s most impressive reunion. â€œSummertimeâ€ is a likable enough track, one that could appeal to both moms and their daughters, but its title might be what really keeps this song in heavy rotation.

â€œAmerican Boy,â€ Estelle and Kanye West
Sheâ€™s a hot, young, fresh face on the R&B scene. Heâ€™s a multi-platinum rapper with more hits to his credit than a mafia family. Sound familiar? Yep, that description would also serve for the Rihanna/Jay-Z smash â€œUmbrella.â€ The strategy could work again here, although â€œAmerican Boyâ€ clearly isnâ€™t as good a track as â€œUmbrella.â€

TBD, Lil Wayne
My panel of music experts _ which consists of the young staff that works the front desk at my health club _ likes Lil Wayneâ€™s chances in the summer song sweepstakes. They just arenâ€™t sure yet what Lil Wayne song, from his newly released â€œTha Carter III,â€ will rise to the top of the heap.

â€œForever,â€ Chris Brown
Brown is on a major winning streak. Heâ€™s charted five straight singles (including â€œForeverâ€) in the top 10 _ all in 2008. â€œForeverâ€ is one of best songs of Brownâ€™s young career and, thanks to its club-style groove, could have legs throughout the summer.

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